Patty Duke
Acting
Born December 14, 1946 · Elmhurst, Queens, New York, United States
Anna Marie Duke (December 14, 1946 - March 29, 2016), known professionally as Patty Duke, was an American actress. Beginning her acting career in commercials and playing bit parts in television and movies, her breakthrough role was as Helen Keller in the Broadway version of "The Miracle Worker" (1959 - 1961). For the 1962 film adaptation, Duke reprised her role, which won the Academy Award for best supporting actress - at age 16, she was the youngest person ever to win an Oscar (a record later broken by Tatum O'Neal in 1973). Other early films included Billie (1965), Valley of the Dolls (1967), and Me, Natalie (1969). On television, Duke starred in the popular teen sitcom The Patty Duke Show (1963 - 1966), playing a dual role and garnering the first of ten Emmy nominations. She won Emmys for her roles in television film My Sweet Charlie (1970), miniseries Captains and the Kings (1976), and the 1979 TV movie version of The Miracle Worker (1979), this time portraying Annie Sullivan. She served as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1985 - 1988. Off-screen, Duke's life was often tumultuous. Born in Elmhurst, New York, to Frances Margaret (McMahon), a cashier, and John Patrick Duke, a cab driver and handyman, her acting career began at age eight when she was turned over to her brother Ray Duke's managers, John and Ethel Ross, who changed her name and engaged in exploitative behavior. Duke was married four times: to director Harry Falk from 1965 - 1969; to writer Michael Tell in 1970 (with whom she became mother to actor Sean Astin); to actor John Astin from 1972 - 1985 (with who she became mother to actress Mackenzie Astin); and to drill sergeant Michael Pearce from 1986 until her death (with whom she had two stepdaughters and an adopted son Kevin). In 1982, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which was the subject of her second book, "A Brilliant Madness: Living with Manic Depression Illness" (1992). Duke was also a political advocate for issues such as the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment), AIDS awareness, and nuclear disarmament. She died on March 29, 2016, in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, of sepsis from a ruptured intestine.
Films (94)
Power of the Air
2018
Amazing Love
2012
Unanswered Prayers
2010
Love Finds A Home
2009
Gotta Get Off This Merry-Go-Round: 'Valley of the Dolls'
2006
The Divine Ms. Susann
2006
The Dish on Dolls
2006
Falling in Love with the Girl Next Door
2006
Bigger Than the Sky
2005
Murder Without Conviction
2004
Sex at 24 Frames Per Second
2003
Little John
2002
Miracle on the Mountain: The Kincaid Family Story
2001
Love Lessons
2000
A Season for Miracles
1999
Kimberly
1999
Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 1
1999
The Patty Duke Show: Still Rockin' in Brooklyn Heights
1999
When He Didn't Come Home
1998
A Christmas Memory
1997
To Face Her Past
1996
Harvest of Fire
1996
Race Against Time: The Search for Sarah
1996
When the Vows Break
1995
Cries from the Heart
1994
One Woman's Courage
1994
No Child of Mine
1993
Family of Strangers
1993
A Killer Among Friends
1992
Prelude to a Kiss
1992
Grave Secrets: The Legacy of Hilltop Drive
1992
Last Wish
1992
Absolute Strangers
1991
Always Remember I Love You
1990
Call Me Anna
1990
Everybody's Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure
1989
Amityville: The Evil Escapes
1989
Hitch-Hikers
1989
Fatal Judgement
1988
Perry Mason: The Case of the Avenging Ace
1988
Fight for Life
1987
Willy/Milly
1986
George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation
1986
A Time to Triumph
1986
Best Kept Secrets
1984
September Gun
1983
Please Don't Hit Me, Mom
1983
Something So Right
1982
By Design
1982
I Love Liberty
1982
The Violation of Sarah McDavid
1981
The Girl on the Edge of Town
1981
The Babysitter
1980
Mom, the Wolfman and Me
1980
The Women's Room
1980
The Miracle Worker
1979
Before and After
1979
Hanging by a Thread
1979
The Swarm
1978
A Family Upside Down
1978
Having Babies III
1978
Inside 'the Swarm'
1978
The Storyteller
1977
Killer on Board
1977
Curse of the Black Widow
1977
Rosetti and Ryan: Men Who Love Women
1977
Fire!
1977
Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby
1976
Hard Day at Blue Nose
1974
Nightmare
1974
You'll Like My Mother
1972
Deadly Harvest
1972
She Waits
1972
If Tomorrow Comes
1971
Two on a Bench
1971
Birdbath
1971
My Sweet Charlie
1970
Me, Natalie
1969
Journey to the Unknown
1969
Valley of the Dolls
1967
Valley of the Dolls: A World Premiere Voyage
1967
Jacqueline Susann and the Valley of the Dolls
1967
The Daydreamer
1966
Billie
1965
The Power and the Glory
1963
The Miracle Worker
1962
4D Man
1959
Meet Me in St. Louis
1959
Happy Anniversary
1959
Swiss Family Robinson
1958
The Goddess
1958
Wuthering Heights
1958
An American Girl
1958
Country Music Holiday
1958